July 02, 2013
Tuesday
13th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading:
Gen 19:15–29
Gospel: Mt 8:23–27
Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning a fierce storm hit the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep.
They woke him and cried, “Lord save us! We are lost!” But Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?” Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and sea; and it became completely calm.
The disciples were astonished. They said, “What kind of man is he? Even the winds and the sea obey him.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE (Daily Gospel in
the Assimilated Life
Experience)
A joke is told of a boat that was about to sink. Some crew members began calling upon God for help, shouting: “Santo Niño de Cebu, Hesus de Praga, Santo Entiero, Diyos Espiritu Santo…!” A man who knew nothing about God yelled at them: “Look, we are overloaded and this storm can sink this boat any moment, and here you are calling out for more passengers? Are you out of your mind?” The crew members explained: “We are calling upon the Lord.” The man retorted: “They may be as big time as drug lords and gambling lords, but can’t you see we are really overloaded?” (End of the joke).
Obviously the man knew nothing about the Lord up there or about religion down here. But it was too late to explain matters of faith to him. Crisis time is too late a time to know the Lord for the first time. Consider what would have been the Gospel scenario had the apostles known Jesus only for the first time. The waves were really scary but all they had to do was wake Jesus up because they knew who he was. It was then that they were saved. Jesus calmed the winds and the waves down with a mere rebuke. They got more: the experience further deepened their faith.
Suppose they did not know the Lord and they only had him in their company for the first time, would they even bother to wake him up? Crisis time is too late a time to know the Lord the first time. If God were a stranger to our lives we’d see no point calling out on him in the first place. Crisis will only harden the hearts of those who know no God and will drive them to self pity. But if we know God and have surrendered ourselves to him, every crisis becomes an occasion for God to intervene. The subsequent divine intervention will even deepen our faith, turning crisis into real spiritual surprises.
So let us strive to know the Lord while the shores of life are calm. When the relationship is deep, God becomes part of us and we become part of God. We shall then brave through crisis with the power of God. Now who is afraid of life’s storms? Only those who know no God! – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:[email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.